From sink to source: Does microbial priming of degraded seagrasses contribute to global warming? - DECRA DE130101084

Funding: 2013: $125,000
2014: $125,000
2015: $125,000

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC DECRA Scheme)

Start year: 2013

Summary: Microbial priming is a fundamental process controlling underground ecosystem carbon (C) storage. It has become the new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of C release in terrestrial systems; however, it has been largely ignored in the aquatic fields. This project will provide a first assessment of microbial priming in Australian seagrasses ecosystems; thus providing vital new information for managing these powerful yet threatened C sinks. Using paleoreconstructions and new CO2 sensor technology, this project will (1) assess the contribution of microbial priming to C leakage from degraded seagrass meadows; (2) identify environmental factors that trigger microbial priming; and (3) determine whether leaked C contributes to atmospheric C.

Publications:

Macreadie, PI, Atwood, TB, Seymour, JR, Fontes, MLS, Sanderman, J, Nielsen, DA & Connolly, RM 2019, 'Vulnerability of seagrass blue carbon to microbial attack following exposure to warming and oxygen', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 686, pp. 264-275.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Thomson, ACG, Trevathan‐Tackett, SM, Maher, DT, Ralph, PJ & Macreadie, PI 2019, 'Bioturbator‐stimulated loss of seagrass sediment carbon stocks', Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 342-356.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Ollivier, QR, Hammill, E, Booth, DJ, Madin, EMP, Hinchliffe, C, Harborne, AR, Lovelock, CE, Macreadie, PI & Atwood, TB 2018, 'Benthic meiofaunal community response to the cascading effects of herbivory within an algal halo system of the Great Barrier Reef', PLOS ONE, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. e0193932-e0193932.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Kelleway, JJ, Saintilan, N, Macreadie, PI, Baldock, JA & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'Sediment and carbon deposition vary among vegetation assemblages in a coastal salt marsh', Biogeosciences, vol. 14, no. 16, pp. 3763-3779.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Kelleway, JJ, Saintilan, N, Macreadie, PI, Baldock, JA, Heijnis, H, Zawadzki, A, Gadd, P, Jacobsen, G & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'Geochemical analyses reveal the importance of environmental history for blue carbon sequestration', Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, vol. 122, no. 7, pp. 1789-1805.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Nielsen, DA, Kelleway, JJ, Atwood, TB, Seymour, JR, Petrou, K, Connolly, RM, Thomson, ACG, Trevathan‐Tackett, SM & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'Can we manage coastal ecosystems to sequester more blue carbon?', Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 206-213.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Ollivier, QR, Kelleway, JJ, Serrano, O, Carnell, PE, Ewers Lewis, CJ, Atwood, TB, Sanderman, J, Baldock, J, Connolly, RM, Duarte, CM, Lavery, PS, Steven, A & Lovelock, CE 2017, 'Carbon sequestration by Australian tidal marshes', Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Baldock, JA & Kelleway, JJ 2017, 'Converting beach-cast seagrass wrack into biochar: A climate-friendly solution to a coastal problem', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 574, pp. 90-94.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Macreadie, PI, Sanderman, J, Baldock, J, Howes, JM & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'A Global Assessment of the Chemical Recalcitrance of Seagrass Tissues: Implications for Long-Term Carbon Sequestration', Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 8.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Kelleway, JJ, Saintilan, N, Macreadie, PI, Skilbeck, CG, Zawadzki, A & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Seventy years of continuous encroachment substantially increases 'blue carbon' capacity as mangroves replace intertidal salt marshes', GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1097-1109.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Pernice, M, Sinutok, S, Sablok, G, Commault, AS, Schliep, M, Macreadie, PI, Rasheed, MA & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Molecular physiology reveals ammonium uptake and related gene expression in the seagrass Zostera muelleri', Marine Environmental Research, vol. 122, pp. 126-134.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Smith, TM, York, PH, Macreadie, PI, Keough, MJ, Ross, DJ & Sherman, CDH 2016, 'Recovery pathways from small-scale disturbance in a temperate Australian seagrass', MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, vol. 542, pp. 97-108.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Atwood, TB, Connolly, RM, Ritchie, EG, Lovelock, CE, Heithaus, MR, Hays, GC, Fourqurean, JW & Macreadie, PI 2015, 'Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems', NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 1038-1045.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Hill, R, Bellgrove, A, Macreadie, PI, Petrou, K, Beardall, J, Steven, A & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Can macroalgae contribute to blue carbon? An Australian perspective', LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 1689-1706.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Rolph, TC, Boyd, R, Schroeder-Adams, CJ & Skilbeck, CG 2015, 'Do ENSO and Coastal Development Enhance Coastal Burial of Terrestrial Carbon?', PLOS ONE, vol. 10, no. 12.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Skilbeck, CG, Sanderman, J, Curlevski, N, Jacobsen, G & Seymour, JR 2015, 'Losses and recovery of organic carbon from a seagrass ecosystem following disturbance', PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, vol. 282, no. 1817.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Madin, EMP & Macreadie, PI 2015, 'Incorporating carbon footprints into seafood sustainability certification and eco-labels', MARINE POLICY, vol. 57, pp. 178-181.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Ricart, AM, York, PH, Rasheed, MA, Perez, M, Romero, J, Bryant, CV & Macreadie, PI 2015, 'Variability of sedimentary organic carbon in patchy seagrass landscapes', MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 476-482.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Kelleway, J, Macreadie, PI, Beardall, J, Ralph, P & Bellgrove, A 2015, 'Comparison of marine macrophytes for their contributions to blue carbon sequestration', ECOLOGY, vol. 96, no. 11, pp. 3043-3057.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Baird, ME, Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Larkum, AWD & Ralph, PJ 2014, 'Quantifying and modelling the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrass meadows - A critical assessment', MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 430-439.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, York, PH, Sherman, CDH, Keough, MJ, Ross, DJ, Ricart, AM & Smith, TM 2014, 'No detectable impact of small-scale disturbances on 'blue carbon' within seagrass beds', MARINE BIOLOGY, vol. 161, no. 12, pp. 2939-2944.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Macreadie, PI, Hughes, AR & Kimbro, DL 2013, 'Loss of 'Blue Carbon' from Coastal Salt Marshes Following Habitat Disturbance', PLOS ONE, vol. 8, no. 7.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

York, PH, Gruber, RK, Hill, R, Ralph, PJ, Booth, DJ & Macreadie, PI 2013, 'Physiological and Morphological Responses of the Temperate Seagrass Zostera muelleri to Multiple Stressors: Investigating the Interactive Effects of Light and Temperature', PLOS ONE, vol. 8, no. 10.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

Keywords: seagrass ecology,seagrass carbon sequestration,aquatic microbial priming

FOR Codes: Ecological Impacts of Climate Change, Ecosystem Function, Phycology (incl. Marine Grasses), Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Coastal and Estuarine Environments, Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation, Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.